As long as we’re all springing forward, it seems like an opportune time for an outdoor junky such as myself to step inside, update the software beneath my belt and more fully engage the 21st Century realm we’re calling the New Media. It’s amazing how something as simple as the changing of a clock can inspire me to contribute to this space with increased frequency. Well, that, and a couple timely memos directed to my attention including the following phrase:

“Blogging is painless, easy and should consume a lot of your time.”

I’m pretty sure that was a well-intended typo (should/shouldn’t, whatever), but apparently no one is editing the editors. And if you’re a fan of that sort of thing, then you’re gonna have a field day with the unfiltered blah, blah, blahging that’s certain to ensue on a routine basis now that the scourge of editing for space and content has been smote by a trio of lower-case w’s.
See, the Outdoor Extremes world is loaded with enough inane twittering, egotism and attitude to fill up an entire television network’s worth of distracting drivel (doubters should/shouldn’t check out FuelTV sometime). Only here in cyberspace, fact checking is optional.
I know what you’re thinking: Writer’s Dream. But the truth is, all this freedom can be a little intimidating. Or, as is so often the case, just plain stupid.
What we really need is some old fashioned “media coaching,” the good stuff, like we encounter with increasing regularity on the OE beat. The stuff we can cite here, so both of my loyal readers won’t turn the page feeling blighted by yet another waste of bytes from the blogosphere.
To wit, I recently stumbled across this fine before/after example from ski racing’s current golden girl, Lindsey Vonn, who last month surpassed Tamara McKinney’s World Cup win total to become the winningest woman in U.S. history:

Before (Oct. 2008): “For the future, Tamara McKinney’s 18 wins is definitely a goal, and I don’t want to sound egotistical, but I really would like to break other records as well.”
(Insert media coaching here…)After (Feb. 2009): “It sounds really weird to me. I don’t see myself as a record setter and actually never thought it was possible to pass a legend like Tamara.”

That kind of spin-doctoring should serve as inspiration to us all. So, in summary, I’d like to thank Al Gore for inventing the internet and making this all possible. I feel extremely blessed and thrilled by this opportunity and hope that the children can see what’s possible in the world of blogging and become inspired by the positive example I hope to set for young bloggers, vloggers and tweeters through hard work, dedication, team effort and computer literacy. The road will be long, hard and fraught with danger and challenges. But we’ll take it one day at a time, together, and ultimately emerge stronger, smarter, emboldened and enlightened, no matter how weird it sounds. Seriously.